The Escape
by Penshil
Summary: She could not help Shizuru last time but this time around, she'd see to her safety even if it meant the disregard for her own. Two-shot, rated M for the second chapter.


"Natsuki, you have a new assignment."

"What is it?"

"To safely deliver Shizuru Fujino to Germany."

A silence.

"Shizuru Fujino?"

"Yes."

"The Shizuru Fujino?"

"Who else could I be talking about?"

Another pregnant silence.

"You know she's not gonna tag along just like that."

"She loved you, didn't she?"

"I, well, I, that's not exactly a benefit!"

"Money is obviously not going to persuade her, but that love can. And you know it."

"She's not going to listen to me anymore, you know that!"

"Then, why don't you rely on your emotions for her and not the ones she has for you?"

Natsuki frowned.

"Figure it out, Natsuki."

This was not going to be a pleasant mission.

* * *

"Natsuki," A welcome voice said.

"Mai," Natsuki acknowledged the presence of the other woman. She was sitting in her desk, reviewing Shizuru Fujino's file. The uneasiness was not hidden from her face.

"I'm going to Mashiro. I'll convince her to let me do this instead," Mai said.

"No."

"Look, I'm not doing this as a co-worker. I'm doing this because you're my friend," Mai said, moving closer to Natsuki. She squeezed the seated woman's left shoulder and smiled, albeit pained. "My best friend."

"Thank you, Mai," Natsuki smiled back and put her hand above the one on her shoulder. "But you and I both know that I'm the only one who can do this. Successfully." She removed Mai's hand from her shoulder.

"You're right," Mai agreed, biting the inside of her cheek after she said so. "Well then, you better get ready soon. Shizuru should arrive at Narita in forty-five minutes. I'll be on the field with you, just inconspicuously as your back-up. Here's your mic," she informed the other and handed her a tiny, black object.

"Thanks, Mai. I'll see you outside your car, then?"

"See you."

* * *

Shizuru Fujino was sent to a correctional facility in Western Japan due to international industrial espionage. Her actions had led to the bankruptcy of one corporation in Japan, and the impending dooms of a few British companies. She was only very recently released after a one-year sentence.

"She's about to pass you by," Mai's voice said through her earpiece.

Natsuki's head shot up quickly. Indeed, there was Shizuru walking several meters away from where she was standing. Natsuki jogged to Shizuru and grabbed her arm from behind.

Shizuru turned around, her eyes widening slightly in the shortest of moments. "Natsuki."

"Hello Shizuru. It's been a year, hasn't it?" Natsuki said.

Shizuru's mouth thinned and her heart ached. One year later and that was the most Natsuki could say?

"You abandoned me," Shizuru accused.

The accusation clearly hurt Natsuki and it showed in her face. Shizuru almost felt bad of what she said. Almost. But it was true, she reasoned to herself. Natsuki abandoned her in her time of greatest need.

"You were supposed to give me an out, Natsuki, and yet you did not appear. Instead, armed people were waiting at my apartment."

"This is not the place to be talking about this, Shizuru. Let's go somewhere else, please."

"Not the place? I have to tell you this now before you run away on me again," Shizuru said.

"Please, I'm asking of you," Natsuki pleaded.

All of a sudden, a man appeared behind Shizuru. "I think it would do you good to listen to this woman's request, Miss Shizuru Fujino," he said. Shizuru felt something cold press her back and Natsuki could very well guess it. "Come now, you wouldn't want any trouble at the airport, would you?"

Shizuru locked eyes with Natsuki. The latter nodded, not wanting the other girl hurt in any way.

"Very well, Mister Stranger. Lead the way."

The man, not that tall and quite stocky, expertly hid the gun from plain sight while still keeping it to Shizuru's back. He urged Shizuru to walk out of the airport with his gun. Natsuki moved to follow them but was stopped with a raised hand, "I don't think following us would be a good idea, Miss. You'll have to let me take care of your friend from here on out."

Natsuki bit her lip upon hearing this. After the man and Shizuru were a good distance away, she pushed her earpiece closer to her ear. "You heard them right, Mai?"

"Yeah, I'm on it. I'll see you outside. Hurry!"

* * *

"Of course it had to be a black car with tinted windows," Natsuki said sarcastically. "How original."

Natsuki and Mai were now in the latter's blue sedan, following their target distantly but close enough to keep track of them.

Mai glanced sideways at Natsuki and finally acknowledged the elephant in the room-or car. "I know you and Shizuru have history. It was in her file. But what exactly was Shizuru Fujino to you?"

Natsuki sank to her seat upon hearing the question. Even she wasn't exactly sure of the answer to that question.

"She was an important friend," Natsuki finally answered. "A special one."

Mai hummed in response. That was a good enough answer for now.

After a few minutes of driving, the number of cars on the road thinned.

"He'll notice us soon, Natsuki. Now's the time to get her out of the car if there ever was one," Mai informed the other. She sped up and the front half of her car was perfectly parallel to the backseat windows of the black car.

"Got it," Natsuki replied. She retrieved a pistol from her hip holster, pushed her window down, and shot at the backseat passenger window of the other car. She skillfully jumped in to the other car's window and surprised the man with a hard hit to the head from her gun's handle.

"Shizuru, grab the wheel!" Natsuki instructed as she pulled the man's body to the backseat and cuffed his hands and feet. Shizuru did as instructed and moved to the driver's seat. "Speed up!"

"I'm sorry, Mai," Natsuki muttered through her earpiece. She could clearly hear the other woman's barrage of expletives before finally taking off the device and pulverizing it on the ground with her shoe.

"Shizuru, cellphone?" Natsuki requested. Shizuru wordlessly handed her cellphone. Natsuki threw it out the window along with her own personal cellphone and the encrypted phone she was provided with. "Alright Shizuru. Show me your driving skills and lose that blue sedan," Natsuki smirked. The other woman never passed up an opportunity to show off after all.

"That's hardly a challenge," Shizuru shot back. She stepped on the gas pedal without restraint and quickly changed to fourth gear. Shizuru hummed pleasantly as she looked at her rear view mirror and found Mai speeding up. A faint smile was on her lips. "Natsuki, I hope you have your seatbelt on."

"Wh-!" All of a sudden, Natsuki's head exchanged pleasantries with the passenger window.

Shizuru easily downshifted from the fourth gear to the third and drifted around the corner. Mai was not too far behind, having drifted in almost the same manner that Shizuru did. "Your... friend is quite skilled."

"You could have warned me," Natsuki said sulkily as she lightly rubbed a small bump on her right temple.

"I did, didn't I?" Shizuru looked sideways at Natsuki.

"Saying that you hope I have my seatbelt on is not a warning!"

"Natsuki should know that she should always put her seatbelt as soon as she gets in a car," Shizuru said quietly.

Natsuki was irked. She should have expected nothing less from Shizuru.

"Look, just lose Mai alright? The sooner the better. We need to dump this guy somewhere too," Natsuki said, gesturing to the unconscious man in the back.

Shizuru did not respond and only decided to speed up the car, shifting gears as she did so. Natsuki could see the faint hint of fun on the other woman's face. She smiled at the sight and turned to face the road in front of her.

"You're having fun, aren't you?" Natsuki asked.

Shizuru hummed. "It is certainly a welcome change. After all, seeing the same thousand square meters everyday for almost four hundred days can get boring."

Natsuki cringed at Shizuru's declaration.

"I wanted to help you. I really did," Natsuki said quietly.

"Then why didn't you?! You have no idea what I went through this past year, Natsuki. And even my best memories of you could not help me get through the most difficult nights," Shizuru said angrily, her eyes moist but refusing to let the tears fall.

"I'm Naicho, Shizuru."

Shizuru's grip on the steering wheel tightened, and the foot on her gas pedal was heavier.

"If I had gone to your aid, you would have ended up dead! I'd rather have you alive locked up somewhere than be gone forever!"

The knuckles on the wheel were slowly turning white.

"You have some explaining to do Natsuki."

Natsuki clenched her eyes shut and put a hand to her face. "I know, Shizuru, I know."

* * *

"I lost her."

"You lost Natsuki?"

"Yes, and Shizuru Fujino too. They were both in the car."

"Call Yukino and Chie immediately. Track their cellphones and if it cannot be tracked, Natsuki's credit card history."

"Alright."

"Yukino, can you check Natsuki's credit card history for me?" Mai requested the mousy brunette.

"Of course, just give me a moment," Yukino said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. Results immediately popped up on her screen. Mai looked over Yukino's shoulder.

"Three disposable debit cards loaded with a hundred thousand yen each?" Mai wondered.

"Actually, the third card has two hundred thousand yen on it," Yukino corrected.

Mai's eyes narrowed. _There's no way._

"Chie!" Mai called out to seemingly no one in particular.

"Yes ma'am!" A girl sitting two desks away from Yukino mock saluted Mai.

Mai rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Check all departing flights out of Narita and the passenger rosters. Natsuki must be in one of them," Mai instructed.

Within mere moments, Chie had found Natsuki's and Shizuru's names on one of the flights bound for Sweden.

"They're flying on Finnair. Their flight leaves in three hours," Chie supplied.

Mai was already heading for the elevators before Chie could even finish her sentence.

* * *

Naicho is the Japanese equivalent of the CIA.

If anyone can guess what this story is based on, you get brownie points! And maybe a story request?


End file.
